Something More
by amberg93
Summary: Zach finds Claire in Costa Verde and decides to pay her a visit. But will their friendship be the same? If not, for better or worse? How exactly does West feel about this? One things for sure things won't ever be the same. ClairexZach [Clach]
1. The beginning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, cept the plot. Unfortunately.**

**Also before I forget thankies to my lovely beta Aliza who caught the stupid mistakes I made :)**

--

Zach walked into Union Wells High School. He passed Claire's old locker on the way to his own, he couldn't help but feel that small sting of pain, that was now almost a familiar occurrence. He'd almost grown accustomed to the pain he felt every time he thought about Claire. He thought about the last time he had seen her, how he had helped her to go find her birth mother.

Where did she go? She had just left so suddenly, not saying a word. He had liked to think that he had met something more to her, he was her best friend. Liked to think that she would have told him, if not for only that reason. Hadn't she told him that he was the person she trusted the most?

So how could she leave without a word? He sighed as he made it to his locker, he opened it and put his backpack into it, as well as his video camera. That same camera had taken the same video he had taken of her jumping off the water tower after he had lost his memory. He had made sure that the tape was safe though, so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the wrong people. He grabbed the books he needed for his first class before slamming the locker shut.

As Zach headed up to his class, it was only natural to wonder where his best friend was at this very moment.

--

Claire Bennet walked with West to Costa Verde High School. She laughed as he told some joke, things were going really well between the two of them. She was so happy with him, she was just able to be herself around him. She didn't have to pretend to be something she wasn't, or have to hide who she really was. He knew everything about her situation, including her power. The only other person who she had told all of that to was Zach.

Thoughts of Zach filled her mind, she wondered how her best friend was doing. He was probably just the same old Zach back in Odessa, though she couldn't help but wonder if he had made new friends, by now he had to know that she wasn't coming back, wouldn't he? She felt guilty about not saying goodbye, for all he had done for her, he had deserved at least that much.

West seemed to notice Claire staring vacantly into space, and was thinking about something. He raised an eyebrow at her and waved a hand in front of her face, she didn't even phase. "Hello? Claire, is anyone in there?"

Claire seemed to snap out of her trance, she shook her head and looked at West. "Huh? Me? Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"Right," he said, in a tone that meant he didn't believe her. "So nothing is on your mind?"

"Nope," she lied, not sure why she didn't just tell him about her best friend and how she missed him.

"Claire," West walked in front of her and turned so she'd have to stop. "You trust me don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do," she said.

"Well then why can't you tell me what's wrong?" he asked. "Is it your father? Does he suspect something is up?"

"No, no it's not that. I just was thinking about a friend who I left behind in Odessa," she said.

"You miss her?" it wasn't a question. "Call her then, see how she's doing, maybe you can bend the rules and get her here or have her come see you."

"Him actually," she corrected. "And I'm suppose to be laying low. I wouldn't be surprised if they were watching him to see if I made contact with him."

"Claire-" he started.

"Look West just drop it, I'll be fine," she said, then glanced at her watch. "Well I'll be fine if we make it to school on time, which at this rate we won't."

He sighed and shook his head as she walked past him and toward school, maybe she'd tell him about it later. Though he couldn't help but wonder why she wouldn't talk about it in the first place, if it were just a friend then it shouldn't matter… should it?

--

Zach sat down at a bench with his tray of food, he had stopped eating on the stone steps after she left. He instead preferred an empty bench. He watched as a group of cheerleaders passed him by, once more his mind wandered to Claire. He wondered if she was still cheerleading. This was getting a bit ridiculous, he pulled out his cell phone and went through his address book.

He'd tried to call Claire in the past, but just could never bring himself to do it. He was always worried that maybe she wouldn't want to talk to him, that maybe their friendship was over. He thought it better to live in denial then accept the truth, but he had to figure this out. He had to know how things stood between the two of them.

He hit the 'send' button and waited as the phone rang. After about three rings an annoying voice filled his ears. "We're sorry but the number you have reached has been disconnected, please check the area cod-"

He hung up the phone. That figured, she'd probably saved the world half a million times by now. So she'd probably have people that hated her out there, people who wanted her dead. The thought hurt him a little, though he knew she'd be fine after all she was invincible for goodness sake.

He took a few bites of his food, before the bell rang and his lunch period was over. He dumped off the uneaten food in the garbage can, and setting the tray on a cart with the other ones. Today was just not going well.

--

Claire sighed as she leaned against the headboard of her bed. She had successfully avoiding talking about Zach all day to West, but that didn't mean that she wasn't still thinking about him. She didn't really know what had sparked this sudden interest in her best friend that she had left behind in Texas. She hadn't thought about him in a while, a small ping of guilt flashed through her system. She glanced at her bedside table.

It had a drawer in it, and under a bunch of papers she had her old cell phone. Which she had managed to get from Nathan before they left New York City. She told her father that she had gotten rid of it, and he'd terminated the service… still it had her old address book, the one with Zach's number in it. She wanted so much to just call him right now.

Her father had warned her that this would happen, that she would have to give everyone and everything up. He had told her that she couldn't even contact Zach, it was too dangerous. And yet, for some reason… it was only sinking in now. The everyone part thing at least, for she was too worried about the everything part to realize what else she was leaving behind. She sighed, and made her way over to the bedside, she opened the drawer and reached inside of it, digging through all of the papers.

When she finally found her old cell phone, she opened it up and scrolled through the numbers, landing on Zach's. She copied it down on a piece of paper and grabbed her current cell phone. She took a deep breath and dialed the number, and listened as it rang.

--

**A/N: Alright so this is my first Heroes fic, and I do realize that it's totally AU but oh well. Also, I realize that I left you with a cliff-hanger, evil I know XD. So should I continue or is no one interested? Drop me a review and tell me what you're thinking.**


	2. A call

Disclaimer I own nothing but the plot, unfortunately. I wouldn't mind owning TD though ;)

Thankies to my awesome reviewers who told me to get on with it and to my lovely beta Aliza :

--

Zach sat in his room, sitting at the desk that held his computer. He was currently editing a film that he had been making. He heard his cell phone ring, on the table next to his bed across the room. He thought about getting up, but the general ring tone came on. That probably meant that it was the girl from next door, who'd lately taken to calling him and bugging him. So he let his voice mail get it, he'd check it later and delete her message.

He went back to editing his film, when he heard a knock on the front door. His room being right next to the living room, he could easily hear it. He got up and went to the door and opened it to find the very same girl that had just tried to call him.

"Hi Kara, I'm kinda busy right now," he said, hoping to get her to leave as soon as possible. "That's why I didn't answer my phone."

The petite brunette looked up at him with curious brown eyes. "Zach, I didn't just try to call you."

"Of coarse you did, I mean the ring tone played-" he started but was cut off by the girl's squee.

"You have a ring tone set for me personally!" Kara said happily, maybe he was finally beginning to like her.

"No I don't!" he said quickly. "It's just the general ring tone, but no one else ever calls me."

She looked put out by this information. "Someone must have," she said, sighing. "Look Zach I guess I'll talk to you later, so you can go call your girlfriend."

"I don't have a gi-" he stopped mid-sentence. For some reason an image of Claire popped into his head, could it have been her? He rushed into his room, letting the door slam in poor Kara's face. He opened up the phone and looked through his missed calls. There was an unfamiliar cell phone number, with an unfamiliar area code. His phone also alerted him of one new message, he went to his message box and hit play.

--

Claire listened to the phone ring, waiting for Zach to pick up. She hadn't realized how excited she was to talk to him, to tell him everything that had been happening till the phone had actually began ringing. Till she realized that it was actually happening, she was actually going to talk to her best friend. She grew more anxious with each ring.

"Hey, you've reached my voice mail. I'm probably filming or editing, so leave a message and I'll get back with ya."

A sinking feeling filled her stomach, she hadn't expected him not to answer. There was a new disappointment that filled her, she debated on leaving a message for him. Would he even listen to it? She wondered. Maybe he didn't want to talk to her. Deciding to take that risk she left a message, maybe he'd call back.

"Hey Zach, looks like I missed you. It's Claire, I just wanted to talk to you. I know you're probably mad at me for just taking off and not saying goodbye, but I'd still appreciate it if you could call me back. Just call this number back alright (562) 364-9132 ((A/N: that is a real California area code XD But I made up the telephone number.)), so I guess I'll talk to you later."

She hung up the phone, and laid back on her bed with a sigh. How she wished he would have answered the phone. She had gotten herself, within the matter of a few minutes, such high expectations of talking to him, now those expectations had crumbled. If she had known that he wasn't going to answer, she probably wouldn't have tried.

Why didn't he answer anyway? He always had his phone on him as far as she could remember. And she'd seen him answer strange numbers all the time, she'd once asked him why he did answer them, she could remember that now, for some reason the memory stood out clearly. Even though it had been about a year ago now, before all the powers had happened.

They were sitting at her house together watching a movie. It was just getting to the best part of the movie when she heard his cell phone go off. She turned to him with an exasperated look. "Who is it?" she demanded.

He looked at his cell phone and shrugged as he answered it. "I don't know."

She looked at him oddly and waited to see if she could tell who it was. For what she gathered of his end of the conversation it had been a wrong number. Once he hung up she raised an eyebrow at him, when he turned to her he looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"Why do you answer it if you don't know who it is?" It didn't make any sense to her, if he didn't know who it was then it was probably a wrong number.

"Because you never know who it could be." It apparently made perfect sense to him. "It could be you some day, calling from someone else's cell phone. Or maybe it could be my parents telling me that they ran off to Vegas to get remarried. You just never know who could be on the other line."

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the movie. Sometimes Zach was crazy, because honestly how likely was that going to be? It wasn't like she was gonna go anywhere anyway.

Now, however she saw his point. Though it made her worry even more, now there was truly a chance that he just didn't want to talk to her. She tried not to think negatively, he probably was just working on a film. It was a well known fact that he made movies often, so he was probably just working on a new one. She rolled over on her side, so that she could look out her window. Though she ended up jumping and screaming instead, rolling off her bed.

West stood and laughed as he watched Claire fall off the bed. He'd just flown in a few moment earlier, while she had been staring at the ceiling, lost in thought again. He was beginning to wonder what was wrong with her, but all she would say before was that she missed her friend. Was that truly it? Did she just miss him that much that it was beginning to seep into her everyday life?

Claire picked herself up off the floor, slightly glaring at West. "When'd you get here?"

"About two minutes ago, while you were staring at your ceiling," he replied.

"I wasn't staring at my ceiling I was thinking!" she defended herself.

"If you say so," he said teasingly. Then changed his tone, to a more serious one. "You should call him."

"I did," she admitted. "He didn't answer."

"Did you leave a number?" he asked.

"Yes, but I don't know if he'll call me back," she sighed, sitting down on her bed.

"Why wouldn't he?" West asked, going over and sitting down next to her.

"Because I had to leave so suddenly. I didn't even get to tell him goodbye, he probably thinks I hate him," she really hoped that wasn't true, but it was how she was feeling.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you Claire. I mean he maybe a little hurt, but I'm sure he'll call you back," he said, brushing a stray hair from her face.

Claire smiled slightly. "You think so?"

"I know so," he leaned in for a kiss, but before their lips could meet her cell phone rang.

She glanced toward it and practically jumped to see who it was. "It's him!"

"Then answer it," West said.

She smiled and hit the answer button on her phone. "Hello?"

--

Zach had listened to Claire's message and then debated about calling her back. What did this all mean, and why did she think that he was mad at her. Did she really think that he'd get mad over something like that? A million questions swirled around in his mind. Well there was only one way to find out.

He went to his missed call list and stared at the first number on the list, Claire's number. It was now or never, he hit the send button. He listened as it rang, then had to redial the number by hand to add a one in front of it, a thought crossed his mind to fix that now for next time… not that there might even be a next time that she called, but he hoped there was.

After redialing the number, a one in front of it, he waited as the phone rang. On about the third ring the phone was answered. He decided to let her say the first words, because honestly the only thing coming to his mind at the current moment was, please don't be a trick. He didn't think that'd be appropriate.

"Zach? Is that you?" came the voice of his best friend.

"Yeah Claire it's me," he replied.

"You're mad at me aren't you, that's why you aren't so excited to talk to me," he heard regret in her tone.

"No Claire, I'm not mad at you," he quickly assured her. "And I am excited to talk to you believe me, but I'm just a little shocked. I mean I thought you were gone, for good. That maybe something had happened to you."

"I'm fine Zach, well for the most part," she said.

"For the most part?" What was that suppose to mean?

"Well we're kinda in hiding at the current moment, from the company," she sighed and he could hear pain in it.

"The Company? The one your dad works for?" Zach was officially confused, but that's what happened, he supposed, when you didn't talk to someone for a few months.

"Well he used to work for them, but things have changed… and they're much more complicated," she said.

He was about to ask what she meant when he heard another voice in the background. It was a male voice and he instantly felt something. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, all he knew was it was there and he couldn't really explain it.

"Look Claire I'm gonna head out," said the unknown male's voice.

"Alright see you later West." West? Seriously, what kinda name was that?

He heard him move closer to her and heard them kiss. Something, possibly the same something from before, made him do what he did next. He didn't intend to do it, he didn't plan for the words to come out of his mouth, but before he knew it, they had.

--

Claire kissed West goodbye, trying to make it short, but not make him feel as if he'd done anything wrong. She just felt a little self-conscious kissing him while talking to Zach for some reason. Though she ended up pulling away from him entirely when she heard what came out of Zach's mouth next.

"What did you just say?" she asked him.

"I'm gonna come visit you," he repeated, though not sounding quite as strong about it now.

"Here? You're gonna come visit me in California?" she was still shocked that he'd even suggested it.

"Yeah just tell me where you live, and I'll be there," he said.

West had been looking at her, very confused for the last few minutes, especially after she pulled away from he kiss. Now he raised an eyebrow. "He's coming to visit?"

"Yeah, he is," she said, suddenly very happy about the idea.

"So am I suppose to find your house with some sort of power or something? Or are you gonna tell me where you live?" she heard Zach ask.

"Give me a moment and I'll give you the address," she said smiling. It was the same old Zach. "And wait how do you plan to get here?"

"Don't worry about that," he said.

"Alright," she said, he'd figure it out, it was Zach after all. She told him her address and then hung up with him, turning back to West who was still standing there. "I thought you said you had to leave…"

"I changed my mind," he said with a shrug. He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to stay suddenly, but he did. He decided to just go with it.

--

After Zach had gotten Claire's address he gathered a bag of clothes and things that he'd need. He wasn't sure how long he'd be staying. Something felt familiar right now, a kind of déjà vu. He headed downstairs to tell his parents that he was gonna leave for a while. He went to the family room upstairs, where his parents were sitting on the couch watching television.

Truthfully he didn't see the point in having a family room, everything they did there they could just do in the living room. But that's just how things were, he had more important things to worry about his family being odd.

"Mom, Dad, I've got something to tell you," he said. "I'm going to visit Claire."

Neither one of his parents looked to phased by the information. "About time you decided to," his mother said. "I mean she moved away months ago. I personally figured you'd go and visit her sooner."

"So you're okay with it?" Some small part of him wasn't surprised by this information.

"We've already got an amount set aside for plane tickets," his father said. "Go to the airport and find the flight you want. But be sure to call us when you get there."

He stared at them for a few moments and then shook his head. Some things he'd never understand. "Okay will do."

"Have a safe trip hunny," said his mother.

"I will," he said before heading out of the room and then the house. He got into his car and headed for the airport. Goodbye Texas, Hello California.

--

A/N: okay so I couldn't stop myself from writing XD. Really the chapter was just writing itself in my mind, so that's why it was updated so quickly XD and a bit longer then the last.

Also speaking of things writing themselves in my mind, I've got a Dasey and a Literati that I've already started the first chapter of. So keep an eye out for them if you're interested and don't forget to drop me a line.


	3. Visiting

Disclaimer: If I truly owned Heroes would I be writing this? I think not! I'd be trying my hand with Milo or Thomas XD

Thankies to my reviewers for telling me what they think, my readers for actually reading, and my beta for betaing XD

--

Claire sat down on her bed with a smile on her face. It'd been a couple of hours since she hung up with Zach, though she hadn't really had any time to think about the call until now. West had been trying to focus her attention elsewhere. She had a feeling that he didn't really want Zach to visit though she had no clue why. It didn't make any sense, because she'd explained to him half a million times already that she had no feelings for Zach. So why wouldn't he believe her? A frown took the place of the smile that had previously occupied her face.

Why wouldn't West believe her? Did he just not trust her? Or did he really believe there was more to her friendship then what met the eye? This was all crazy, why was she wasting her time on these thoughts? West trusted her and even if he didn't she knew where Zach and herself stood, and that was all that mattered anyway. She let her mind wander back to Zach and she was excited, she'd get to see him!

"Claire! Dinner!" her mother called up the stairs.

She got off her bed and headed downstairs to the table, taking her seat. Lyle and her father were already there waiting for her. She glanced at the clock 7:10, she was ten minutes late. Her family always ate at seven, she was just preoccupied with thoughts to notice the time. "Sorry," she said.

"I bet it was that guy," Lyle said to his father.

"It better not have been," Mr. Bennet replied, his voice even. Quite clearly there was anger just underneath the surface though.

"It wasn't West," Claire said defensively. Technically, she supposed, it could have been labeled as him as that's where his thoughts had been, but then again they were also on Zach.

"He left a little while ago," her mother supplied, then turned to Claire. "You really should talk to him about using a door."

"Right, I'll be sure to do that," she said, forcing a smile. The reason why she didn't talk to West about using a door was the fact of what happened after he had discovered who her father was. She'd finally managed to convince him that she wasn't out to kill him, but he still didn't want to run into her father. Which was the main reason why he used her window, the other being that both of them liked it better that way. It allowed them more privacy in a way. Though apparently not much got past her mother.

"I still don't like the idea of you having a boyfriend," said her father.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Dad, come on I'm sixteen years old! You can't expect me to not have a boyfriend!"

He opened his mouth to make a reply, but his wife cut him off. "That's enough of this conversation for right now, we can talk about it later." And just like that the conversation was through. The only sound that filled the house was the clank of spoons and forks on plates. After everyone finished eating Mrs. Bennet walked over to the counter that held a store-bought pie.

"Who wants pie?" she asked, Lyle immediately replied while Claire and Noah stayed quiet. "Claire? Noah?" she asked.

Both simply shook her head no, she sighed and put a piece on both of their plates anyway. "Just in case you change your mind." Claire ended up eating her piece after a while, while her father decided not to. When she was done she began to head up her room, but stopped when she heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" she volunteered, practically running over to the door. She opened it and grinned upon seeing who was standing on the other side. "Zach!"

Zach grinned slightly as she threw her arms around him and hugged him, not even really thinking about it. She was just so happy to see him, it hit her more then ever just how much she had missed him over the last few months. "How'd you get here so quick?"

"Plane," he replied. He didn't feel like mentioning the fact that his parents had already saved up money for him to come and visit her. It might be a bit embarrassing, and maybe a tad awkward. Though he wasn't quite sure why it would be, maybe because he was sure that his parents saw their relationship a little differently then they did.

Mrs. Bennet walked up behind her daughter and smiled brightly. "Zach, it's good to see you," she smiled at him. "Come in."

Mr. Bennet walked up behind them to, though his reaction was quite different. "How'd you find out where we were?"

"Noah! Don't question the poor boy, I'm sure Claire here invited him," Mrs. Bennet said, turning to face her husband.

"Dad, I called him. I mean I know you said that we were suppose to lay low, but I missed Zach," Claire said to her father, knowing that he probably wouldn't understand, but hoping that he might.

"Was it a bad idea for me to come?" Zach asked Claire quietly.

"No it wasn't," she replied just as quietly. "He's just having some issues lately, it'll all work out."

"Well fine I guess he can stay," Mr. Bennet said after a while. Secretly he was hoping that maybe having Zach around would either scare West off or just make Claire forget about him. Neither were very likely but it was worth a shot after all.

"Thanks Dad," Claire said happily.

"Where are you staying Zach?" Mrs. Bennet asked. "And for how long are you here?"

"I'm not sure how long I'll be here," he answered honestly. "But for the time I am here I'll just stay at a motel."

"A motel?" Mrs. Bennet repeated. "That's too much to be paying if you're going to stay more then a day. You should stay here, in our guest room. Mr. Muggles wouldn't mind sharing, it's his room too, would you?" She asked the small dog as she picked it up.

"Thanks Mrs. Bennet, but I'm not really sure if I should," he said.

"Nonsense, come on, grab your stuff and Claire will show you to the room," Mrs. Bennet said.

Claire stood their for a moment, not quite sure what she was thinking about the situation. She listened to them talk and decided that she wouldn't mind Zach staying there instead of a motel. "Follow me," she said to Zach.

Zach grabbed his stuff and followed Claire upstairs. This could be interesting, to say the least. "So is that guy still here?" he asked her.

"West?" Claire asked, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. When she saw him nod she shook her head. "No he went home a little bit ago."

"So he's your-" he started.

"Boyfriend?" she asked, seeing him nod again she nodded herself. "Yeah." There was a small silence, but it was broken soon enough because they reached the guest room. "Here we are," she said, opening the door to allow him into the room.

He looked around at the room. It was about averagely sized room with light green walls and an off white ceiling, there was a window looking into the back yard, as well as a full sized bed complete with a navy comforter. Next to the bed was a small table with a drawer in it, as well as a lamp on top of it. There was a television next to the closet, as well as a chair which currently held Mr. Muggles' bed. He nodded, it was pretty nice. Setting his things down he turned to her.

"What have you been up to?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much, you know just trying to lay low so I don't get found by the company, and all that good stuff," Claire said with a sigh.

"You blend in?" Zach asked. "You're kidding right, I didn't even know you could blend in." When she glared slightly at him he shrugged. "It's not a bad thing, it just means that you are meant to stand out."

"Well standing out may just get me killed," she said.

"Did you forget you're indestructible girl or something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can still be killed Zach," Claire said. "And if not, they can kill the people that I care about."

Zach hadn't really thought about that before. But now thinking about it, he saw her point. She was in danger, more danger then he actually liked to think about. He wished that he could help her in some way. Something to get her mind off of all her problems. He thought for a moment, maybe he could help her. All he'd need was internet access.

"Zach?" she asked after a few moments of him staring vacantly.

"Do you have a computer?" he asked her.

"Of coarse, there is one in my room," she said. "Why?"

"I just wanna check on some things," he said.

"Alright," she said. "Do you wanna go now?" He nodded and she stood up, motioning him to follow her. He followed her out of the guest room and into her room. He nodded as he looked around briefly.

"Nice," he commented.

"Thanks," she said. "Here's the computer."

"Thanks," he said smiling at her. Happy to see that she smiled back. He got unto Google and looked up a local map, while she went sit down on her bed. After a few moments he came up with an idea, closing the window he turned to face her.

"Find what you wanted?" she asked him.

"Yup," he said. "And I was wondering, if maybe tomorrow we could do something."

"What?" she asked, usually she spent her Saturdays with West, but Zach was here now and she hadn't seen him in ages, he'd understand.

"You'll see tomorrow," he promised and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked him, noticing that he was beginning to head toward the door.

"I've got a film to edit still," Zach replied.

"You brought your laptop?" she asked. He nodded. "Then why'd you ask to use my computer?"

"I don't have internet right now," he answered. "But that doesn't mean I can't work on my film."

She laughed slightly. "Still the same old Zach."

"And you're still the same old Claire," he smiled and her and headed for the door. Before he left, he turned to face her. "Hey Claire?"

"Yes?" she said, wondering what he was going to say, or ask.

"It's good to see you," he smiled brightly at her.

"It's good to see you, too," she said, smiling back at him.

--

A/N: Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up, and that it wasn't the greatest chapter. I had a bit of writers block on this one, and plus I ended up deleting half of it at first because I didn't like the way it was going XD. So drop me a line and tell me what you think.


	4. Crazy Enough to Drive Everyone Insane

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I know I said that all my stories were on pause for the moment, because my computer is broken. But this story's chapter was only a couple of paragraphs in, where I have the other two chapters completely and totally finished. So that explains that XD.

Also thankies load to my beta Aliza, to all my readers, and to those fantastic reviewers :)

--

**Chapter 4: Just Crazy Enough to Drive Everyone Insane**

Claire woke up with a smile on her face. She glanced at the clock eight a.m. she hadn't gotten up that early in a while. But she was excited, today was the first day in a long time that she was going to get to spend with Zach. Just her and Zach, she couldn't wait. She got out of bed and got dressed. Though she wasn't sure exactly what she should wear, he hadn't told her where they were going.

She decided that casual was best, so she grabbed a t-shirt and some jeans. Then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, do her make-up, etc. Once she was satisfied with her appearance she went over to the guest room that Zach was staying in. She knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

"Come in!" she heard him call.

She pushed open the door and wasn't surprised to find him on his laptop working on his film. "Still working on that film Zach?" she asked.

He turned around to grin at her. "You shouldn't be surprised," he said. "And you look nice today." He added the last as if it were an after thought, and saved his film. After he head he turned off his computer and turned back to her. "Ready to go?"

"Yup," Claire said, leading him out of the room and downstairs. They were going to stop at the kitchen to tell her parents that they were going to head out for a bit, and just hang out. What neither one had expected to see was West, standing in the kitchen, talking to Mrs. Bennet. And by the look on his face, he hadn't expected to see Zach there so soon either.

"Well good morning you two, it's about time you dragged yourself out of bed," Mrs. Bennet said with a smile. "Did you sleep well Zach?"

"Morning Mrs. Bennet," Zach said with a nod. "And yes I did."

West looked at Zach then at Claire and raised an eyebrow in question. Claire shrugged, though she had forgotten that today was her and West day in all the excitement. Mrs. Bennet watched the exchange, as did Zach.

"Claire, aren't you going to introduce these boys?" Mrs. Bennet asked.

"I was getting to that," she said. "Zach this is West, West this is Zach."

"Nice to meet you," they both said quietly, shaking each other's hand. Neither looked like they were happy to meet the other though, or see the other.

West turned to Claire, deciding to ignore Zach at the current moment. "So are you ready to get going?" he asked.

"Oh West, I'm sorry but Zach and I kinda made plans..." she trailed off.

"We made plans too, Claire," West pointed out.

"I know but I haven't seen Zach in forever," she said. "Please say that you understand. We'll do something tomorrow."

"Why don't you all go out together?" Mrs. Bennet suggested. Three pairs of shocked teenage eyes met her face. How could she suggest such a thing? It was absolutely crazy. There was no way all three of them could hang out for a day and not have it feeling awkward. It wasn't possible it was-

"That's a great idea mom," Claire said, surprising everyone, including herself. The smile on her face looked a bit forced, but it was a smile nonetheless. "We can all go out together, and have fun. And it'll give Zach and West a chance to get to know each other better. After all I think my best friend and my boyfriend should get along."

"Right... great idea," Zach said, trying to give her a smile. Though he thought it was a horrible idea, he'd been looking forward to having a day of just the two of them. However he wasn't about to come back immediately and cause a rift between the two of them. If he wanted things to be okay between the two of them, he'd have to go along with a few things that he didn't like. Such as spending the day with West.

"Yeah great," West agreed, though there was obvious half-heartedness in his voice.

"Great then it's settled," she said with a smile. "Where do you guys wanna go that all three of us can enjoy?" Neither boy answered, apparently their plans weren't open to extension by one more person. So she'd have to come up with something, it seemed. "How about we take a tour around town, so that Zach can get to know where everything is."

"Sure," Zach said with a shrug, no longer excited about today. After all it was now going to be him, Claire and West. That idea just screamed fun... not.

"Great," West said, his voice giving off a hint of sarcasm. He'd been looking forward to a day alone with Claire as well, and now he had to spend it with her 'best friend'.

"We'll be back later then," Claire told her mother as she led the two boys out of the house. It was sure to be an interesting day, with both Zach and West. Once they were out of the house Zach grabbed her attention and started talking to her, asking questions and telling about how things were back home.

West watched them, but didn't say anything. Somehow, by the way she looked at him, the way she smiled at him he had a feeling that whether she knew it or not somewhere in her mind she viewed him as more then a friend. And somehow that worried him...

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A/N: Yeah yeah I know an annoying filler chapter XD, but really it's how I wanted to do this chapter. I wanted to end it withotu actually going through the day, because I thought that it'd be more fun this way, for me XD. I've set a goal to get a chapter out every two weeks from now on, just so you know so keep a look out for chapter five: A freak, A flying boy, and Industructo girl :D. Don't forget to drop me a line :)


	5. A freak, a flying boy & Industructo girl

A/N: Thanks loads to all the lovies that reviewed, and of course to the lovely Aliza my beta :D.

**Chapter 5: A freak, a flying boy, and Industructo girl.**

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Claire led Zach and West around the town, not really paying much attention to the latter. Nor was she realizing that he wasn't too happy about the whole thing. Then again, who could blame him? His girlfriend was basically blowing off the plans that he'd made for the two of them, to show her best friend around the town. It might not have been that bad if her best friend was a girl and not Zach, and true she had included him in this little shindig of theirs. However, right about now he was wishing that she hadn't, he'd rather that she'd just not have let him come. For he was simply standing there while the two of them did all the speaking. He didn't think that Zach had actually even been paying attention to the town that he was suppose to have been shown around. Nor was Claire actually showing him anything. It was just talk, everything was just about the two of them.

At first he'd been interested to hear about the life that Claire had led back in Odessa. He'd wanted to learn new things about her, however that excitement soon waned as he realized the full nature of it. What this meant was that he'd have to be bored and wait for two whole hours and Claire and Zach talked and questioned each other for what seemed like hours. They'd been walking around Costa Verde for a couple of hours at least. And not once had he really had a chance to be involved in the conversation. It was enough to drive him insane.

"So have you heard from your mother since last time?" Zach asked Claire, it was a different tone then he'd been using. As if he were approaching the subject with caution. He didn't really think that she had, he just had to ask her.

Claire shook her head and gave him a small smile. "No, I haven't. I guess she's still off wherever it was that she went."

He left it at that. "So joined any cheerleading squads out here?" he asked, his tone now changing completely so that it was light and teasing.

"Yes, actually I have," she answered, this time giving him an actual smile.

West seized the opportunity to finally be a part of the conversation. Now they were talking about something that he could contribute to. He'd been waiting hours for this. He looked over at Claire and smiled. "Even though you had to break your father's rule to do so."

Claire turned her attention to West and smiled at him. "You're right, I did. I also had to break the rules to go out with you."

"A very smart move," West said with a smile.

Zach stayed silent. He wasn't really willing to voice his opinion at the moment. It would have made things more then just a little bit awkward. After all Claire was suppose to be his best friend and he couldn't have feel- no wait. He didn't have feelings for her. It was just… he didn't like West. It was as simple as that West was just… not the right guy for Claire. He was too… something. He wasn't sure what he just didn't like West and he was looking out for Claire. That was it, that was simply it. Concern for his friend drove his feelings, nothing more. And there was a legitimate reason why he didn't like West too. It wasn't jealousy.. no way. It was the fact that there was really something just wrong with that kid, yup that was it.

"I've known to be smart at times," she replied jokingly. Though, for a reason she couldn't quite place her finger on, she felt a bit odd saying these types of things to West in front of Zach. And it didn't make any sense to her. Either way she decided that it would be a good thing to change the subject. She looked around and noticed that the beach wasn't too far away, directly a head actually. "Hey guys how about we go walk on the beach? It's a hot day out."

Both guys looked a head and were a bit surprised at her random switch in topics. However each of them stayed silent. Not really wanting to say anything to that.

"Well are we going to go or not?" she asked. She really wished that each of them would talk a bit more. After all West was her boyfriend and Zach was her best friend. They should get along, right? Right. It would make her feel better if they did get a long at least.

"Sure," Zach said with a shrug. The beach looked like it was nice, besides he'd take all the time he could get with Claire… not because he like her or anything. Simply because he wanted to spend time with his best friend, even if it was accompanied with West.

"Yeah sure," West repeated. He didn't know what else to say. What he wanted to say was no, and suggest that they all head back. However he had a feeling that wasn't what she wanted to do and might get upset with him for suggesting it. Which was something he definitely didn't want.

"Alright good," she said with a smile at each of them. She was happy to see that they were both finally getting along, or rather agreeing. Which was close enough to make her happy at that moment. They all walked unto the beach and she smiled and slid off her flip flops, walking through the warm sand.

She made small talk with each of them for a bit, trying to pick topics that they all could be involved in. So it wouldn't appear that she was picking favorites or anything. It was harder not to talk just with Zach though, as so much had happened with her in the months that had passed. She somehow managed to do what she'd hoped she'd be able to. Keep each of them talking with her, sometimes with each other.

As she kept walking though, she felt a bit of pain. She looked down and raised her foot to look at the bottom of it. She was surprised to see a small shard of glass sticking out of it. She pulled it out and immediately the pain faded as it started to heal, the two guys had stopped to watch her and each one immediately became worried about Claire being exposed to the other.

"Hey West look over there it's a bird!" Zach said pointing him in a random way.

"There's a bird this way too," West said point the opposite direction.

Claire couldn't help but laugh at their pathetic attempts to distract one another from her rapid healing, which was already complete. "Guy chill out, both of you know what I can do. There's no reason to freak out."

"What?!" they exclaimed in unison, each of them shocked that the other knew about it.

"Yes Zach was the first person I ever told, and West kinda found out," she said with a shrug.

West looked over at Zach with discontent. He thought that he'd finally found out something that Zach hadn't known. Or rather he'd known something that Zach hadn't. Well there went his happy bubble. "Well I assume you can do something then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He wondered if his power was better then Zach's.

"Nope," Zach said shaking his head. "I'm just an average guy."

"Really?" West was pleased to hear this. Somehow it made him feel as if he'd be able to better connect with Claire because of it. Each of them were special in that way, something that Zach wasn't.

Zach was about to reply but was cut off by Claire's cell phone ringing. They both watched her as she picked it up and talked for a few minutes. She looked at them each apologetically. "Seems like we're going to have to head home. Apparently it's time for dinner already."

Each nodded at her and they began to head home. Claire couldn't help but smile slightly as she thought about the three of them walking together. They made an odd just somehow normal set.

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**A/N: Alright there it is, sorry it took me so long to get it up :D. Hope it was worth the wait. Be sure to drop me a line.**


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